Insider calls Bo Nix the Vikings' 'preferred option' at quarterback
Alec Lewis of The Athletic has released his first mock draft for the Vikings – the team he covers religiously alongside the likes of Minnesota beat reporters Matthew Coller, Ben Goessling, Dane Mizutani, Will Ragatz and others – and he has Minnesota holding onto the 11th overall pick and then trading back into the first round to get snag a quarterback.
First off, Lewis says his predictions are based on information he "gleaned from the Senior Bowl," and that led him to connecting the Vikings and the 11th overall pick to Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II.
"Murphy’s name surfaced frequently during conversations about potential draftees of interest for the Vikings at the Senior Bowl," Lewis wrote, noting that Murphy makes sense at 11 "unless a feasible trade-up scenario emerges for one of the three highly regarded quarterbacks."
Those quarterbacks are Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels.
There may be even more desire from NFL teams to secure high-end interior lineman after the Chiefs used Chris Jones and Mike Pennel to disrupt the 49ers' offensive line in the Super Bowl. Edge rushers have been the rage for years, but in the Super Bowl it was two interior linemen who stole the spotlight from San Francisco's superior edge rushers Nick Bosa and Chase Young.
According to Pro Football Focus, Murphy led all of college football's interior linemen with a pass-rush win rate of 19.6%. No other defensive tackle reached a 17% pass-rush win rate.
Lewis then has the Vikings trading back into the first round with the Ravens for the 30th pick, where he projects they could take Oregon quarterback Bo Nix. What's really interesting is that Lewis calls Nix the "preferred option" for the Vikings.
Lewis isn't the only local reporter hearing good things about Nix. Coller, whose Purple Insider stories can be read daily right here at Bring Me The Sports, has been told that Nix could be a perfect fit in Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell's system.
“Bo Nix at Oregon was really impressive with the way he operated the offense. He’s going to get criticized for having open wide receivers all the time but he put up huge numbers in a good situation and the Vikings certainly plan to have open wide receivers too. Considering he also has some above average athletic traits to go along with a ton of experience playing QB he could make for a good fit for KOC," Coller told Bring Me The Sports on Tuesday.
Last year, O'Connell told Colin Cowherd that the one trait he loves in a quarterback is the ability to be naturally accurate. The one guy he raved about in that interview was former Oregon Ducks and current Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
"You talk about Justin Herbert, I think the one thing that you couldn't see on his tape enough of in college just by the nature of how they played, and no sleight on anybody, you just didn't get to see a lot of those reps where he did that. But I'll tell you what, you turn on the tape now, you see him do it time and time again," O'Connell said.
O'Connell wants a quarterback who can "wake up out of bed and be able to throw the rock" with accuracy.
Nix's 92.7 passer grade was No. 1 in the nation this past season, according to Pro Football Focus. He also led the nation in passing yards, passing touchdowns and completion percentage. His 9.5 yards per attempt was tied sixth in the nation.
But Nix's average depth of target was just 6.8 yards, ranking fifth shortest among qualified passers and garnering him the nickname "Bubble-screen Bo." That's funny, but he was elite on intermediate and deep passes.
According to PFF, Nix was 62 of 91 on passes of 10-19 yards for 1,169 yards, 16 touchdowns and one interception for a passing grade of 94.7. His passing grade on attempts 20+ yards downfield was 95.5 (26 of 51 for 999 yards, 13 TD, 2 INT).
His passing grade on deep throws (20+ yards) was tied with Caleb Williams. He was No. 1 in college football on intermediate throws (10-19 yards) with a 94.7 grade. For context, Drake Maye's grade on intermediate throws was 83.8 and Williams' grade was 78.0.
Feb 3, 2024; Mobile, AL, USA; National quarterback Bo Nix of Oregon (10) throws the ball during the first half of the 2024 Senior Bowl football game at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports
